The Good, the Bad and the Weird (dir. Ji-woon Kim, 2008) is a remake of Sergio Leone’s masterpiece The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966). Beyond the fact that both versions unfold in different locations and at different times (1860s American civil war and 1930s Mandchuria), the presence of maps in both versions leads to question in more general terms the relationships between westerns and maps.

In The Good, the Bad and the Weird, just like in the original version of Sergio Leone, the film ends by an intense duel scene (with three characters). The rule is rather simple: the one who survives get the loot! In Sergio Leone’s version, Sentenza is killed, Tuco is saved in extremis by Blondin who ends up with the gold. In Ji-woon Kim’s version, the three protagonists all end up dead without being able to grab the mysterious treasure that turns out to be oil. In both versions, the narrative is structured to make sure that the three heroes arrive to the final scene. Where the two versions differ substantially, is in the role played by the map to bring all these characters to this ultimate duel.

In the original version, the final scene takes place in a cemetery. To reach the buried treasure, Tuco and Blondin have each a piece of information: Blondin knows the name of the grave where the treasure is buried, while Tuco knows the name of the cemetery (Sentenza knows that too, since he get this information by torturing Tuco). Tuco and Blondin also relied on a map to get to the cemetery. In The Good, the Bad and the Weird, the map plays a substantially larger role. Indeed, the location of the treasure (which is where the three characters will kill each other at the end) is marked on a map. The screenplay is structured around multiple fights between rival groups trying to get the map. In the Good, the Bad and the Weird, the map is therefore extremely convenient as a shortcut narrative bringing the three main characters to the final scene.

Beyond this narrative function, these two maps lead us to wonder about possible relationships between maps and westerns. According to Tom Conley (2007) westerns (just like war movies and road movies) have many affinities with mapping because of their geographical representation of the landscape (p.8) as well as because both serve to claim new lands (p. 209). Beyond these similarities, we can argue that western and maps are complementary in their relationships to places. While Westerns often represent large open spaces (thus spaces open for settlers and colonization), maps serve to define, structure, and organize, this space in order to make it available for settlers. The cowboy first marks the territory by its presence, then the map formalizes this presence with borders and boundaries (e.g. property lines or Indian reservation). The presence of the map in the Western can serve as a way to locate things (e.g, location of the cemetery in the Good, the Bad and the Ugly), and as a simple and efficient narrative process (e.g. the Good, the Bad and the Weird). But overall westerns and maps contribute to the relentless process of spatial appropriation and spoliation. In this sense, mapping and western appear to be complementary modes of territorial production.